March 27 2008 / by Venessa Posavec
Category: Communication Year: 2008 Month: Mar Rating: 7
National Wi-Fi is a hot topic lately. We’ve recently reported on
Google’s plan to
make it happen and Intel’s new wi-fi platform.
Now, a new product has launched that may satisfy our need for
around the clock connectivity. 
TapRoot
Systems announced it’s WalkingHotSpot software
yesterday, which offers a new way to get connected using your
handheld device. If you own a Wi-Fi and mobile broadband-enabled
cellphone, the software turns it into a Wi-Fi router, effectively
transforming your phone into a hotspot.
There are a few kinks to be worked out before this can be widely
adopted. The service will be sold to carriers, not directly to
consumers, so we’ll have to wait and see who picks it up. Also,
only phones based on AT&T Wireless’ service would allow
internet access and phone calls to be made simultaneously. To
narrow it further, only phones using Symbian S60 or Windows Mobile operating systems are currently
supported.
Regardless, mobile phones are already the most prevalent
communication device worldwide. Imagine what this could do for
people in rural areas where laying cable internet may not be
practical or affordable. Or for the student or businessperson who’d
like to get work done from the park, train, or even the beach. No
matter where you go, you’re your own wireless hookup.
As TapRoot CEO Bob Bicksler put it,
“We see this as a truly disruptive technology.” While we wait for
the promise of national wi-fi coverage, this may be the solution to
the public demand for “consolidated anywhere, anytime, any-device
connectivity.”
(via Yahoo
News)
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